There’s a new rumor about the Switch 2 which may explain some strange things Nintendo allegedly did in prior rumors.
Just to get everyone up to speed, last April, a Spanish language gaming website called Vandal claimed that Nintendo allowed them to touch the Switch 2 behind closed doors, but they did so while the device was still hidden in a box.
That meant that those companies were given a small preview of the device, but it also suggests that Nintendo added something new that you could see the moment that you actually saw it.
Today, a new rumor has appeared on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit posted by user RojaTop. A Taiwanese news outlet called the Economic Daily News has some new alleged details about the upcoming console.
So, before we go forward with the rumor, we can confirm that there is a Taiwanese newspaper called Economic Daily News, listed on this Wikipedia page. It is credited to be owned by United Daily News, whose name also appears at the bottom of the web page where this rumor comes from.
We’ll outline the main points of the rumor below:
- The Switch 2 will have two screens, larger than the original Switch screen
- It will also have longer battery life and better performance
- Nintendo may add some AI functions
- They expect the price to be $ 400
I think we can all agree the big one among these rumors is the claim that Nintendo is going back to two screens. Nintendo’s last dual-screen device, the 3DS, was released in 2011 and discontinued in 2020. If the rumor is true, it means Nintendo is enabling the return of some of their classic dual screen games, but also that they are interested in re-exploring the idea of two screens in general.
If you are skeptical that this rumor could be true, that is warranted. This certainly sounds like the kind of rumor made because it would make Nintendo fans happy. But if the rumor is true, then it could explain why Nintendo previewed the device a few months ago without allowing their partners to actually see it.
Or maybe not, because how could their partners miss that second screen? Is the device designed in such a way that that second screen would not be obvious? Of course, it’s possible none of these rumors are true as well.
But in the same way that Nintendo did not expect the innovation and market changes that the DS and the Wii were introduced, Nintendo can surprise us yet again. So we don’t think this is entirely off the table.
As for AI, that’s certainly so generic that we don’t know what it could mean. Some gamers may jump the gun and conclude this is generative AI using an AI model. But it may refer to Nvidia’s DLSS upscaler, which uses AI to render graphics up to 4K.
The other parts of this rumor fall in line with other earlier rumors, so there’s nothing there to either add or subtract from its credibility. Even as we confirmed that the Economic Daily News is a real news company, they could have a bad source to give them fake rumors. As is the case with the PlayStation 5 Pro, the rumors will just continue to come flying in until we get the official announcement from Nintendo. But at least we know there will be a set date when Nintendo will have to announce it eventually.